Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are specialized diodes made from semiconductor material or materials. LEDs differ from standard diodes in that, when LEDs are energized by small amounts of electric current, they emit light that is visible to humans. Early generation LEDs generated primarily red, yellow, or green colored lights, but relatively recent advances in LED technology provide blue and white LED lights as well. White LEDs may be particularly bright, and, because they are made of a stable, solid state material, have a very long working lifetime. Additionally, LEDs operate at relatively low voltage, and their electrical current requirements are decreasing as LED technology matures.
LEDs have found their way into a variety of lights previously served by incandescent, florescent, or other lighting technology. For instance, LEDs may be found in taillights of many vehicles, such as automobiles and trucks. They also have found niche use in flashlights as well. LEDs have not been as successful making inroads into home or industrial lighting; however, primarily due to their relative high cost compared to the very mature standard incandescent bulb, which has been available for at least 50 years, and is very cost-efficiently made. Even the latest florescent bulbs, known as Compact Florescent Lights (CFL), have been available in the United States for approximately 15 years, and are thus a mature technology when compared to LED lighting. Maturity brings with it lower fabrication cost and increased consumer awareness, both of which combine to create a product having large consumer following and sales. Present LED light bulbs are currently too expensive to fabricate and operate to favorably compete in the residential and industrial lighting market.
Embodiments of the invention address this and other limitations of the prior art.